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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Learning through knowledge sharing exchange visits

By Bob Aston

Farmer representatives drawn from 30
groups in Laikipia County on June 8-9, 2016 visited four cooperatives from Baringo
County to measure their performance with other cooperatives and seek ways of
improving their products and services.

Mrs. Peris Mutua, ASDSP-Laikipia
Value Chain Development officer said that they decided on Baringo County to
enable the farmers learn how to improve on management, resource mobilization,
how to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in business
operations and how to run grain business hubs.

Mrs. Mutua noted that they are keen
to ensure that farmer groups from Laikipia County adopt check-off system. The system ensures that farmers access inputs
and other services while the service provider receives payment for the goods or
services delivered to the farmer on credit.

“We hope that our farmers would learn
how their Baringo counterparts manage joint marketing, mobilise funds and
engage with financial institutions and how we can ensure that our warehouses
are utilized,” said Mrs. Mutua.

She noted that most farmer groups in
Laikipia County have not adopted ICT in their operations. This has prevented
most groups from becoming successful and running sustainable agribusiness
enterprises.

“We hope that the discussion with
Baringo cooperatives will enable our farmer’s close the knowledge gaps that
hold them back. They will now be able to introduce new business services by
tapping into ICT,” said Mrs. Mutua.

Farmer representatives from Laikipia at Mumberes Cooperative

During discussions with their Baringo
counterparts, the farmer representatives learned that embracing use of ICTs
could help them provide knowledge-based services to their members. This would
enable them to coordinate their planning and monitoring of production and
marketing systems by virtually aggregating data and use of check-off system.

Interestingly, all the cooperatives
that the Laikipia County team visited are running different business
enterprises and are using Management Information System software.

At Marigat Farmers Cooperative
Society, the group learned that instead of relying on maize production they can
diversity by investing in seed multiplication business. Most of the Marigat
Farmers cooperative members prefer doing seed multiplication as the returns are
better than maize production.

Mr. David Githinji, Laikipia West
Crops officer noted that exchange visit are more productive compared to normal
training as farmers are able to hear from their peers. He noted that the
exchange visit was beneficial to farmer groups from Laikipia County as they
learned more about marketing, linkages, and increasing accessibility to
investment capital.

“We hope that the exchange visit will
help the farmer organization leaders strengthen their business hubs as well as
enhance their capacity to sell grains more efficiently and profitably,” said
Mr. Githinji.

The exchange visit was part of the
implementation of the ASDSP maize second concept note titled: “Promotion of
environmentally resilient and socially inclusive maize production, post
harvesting and marketing through Strengthening of Institutions in Laikipia
County.”

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